You're Not Alone!
by Harry Albus Potter Dumbledore
Summary: Sometimes people are not what they appeared to be in public. Everyone has a secret they wished to hide from others. Some are insignificant and innocence, and others are dark and serious. Henry's secret is the latter. His friends doesn't know about his past but they are about to. Will they stick with Henry once they find out or turn away like all the others? For suicide month-Sept.
1. What's Wrong With Henry?

**A/N:** Hey everyone! This is my first Henry Danger story so I'm pretty nervous about posting it, especially since it's a dark story to tell, I hope I'm truly doing this story with the justice it deserved since I have never, ever cut myself or had thoughts about killing myself. This subject is very new to me so the writing will obviously be inexperience and possibly wrong. For those who have touched on this very subject or experienced it and know I have something wrong in the story, please don't hesitate to let me know via review or pm.

 **Warning:** Please don't read this story should it trigger something. And for those who are currently experience anything that is mention in the summary/story, please get help. Talk to an adult, teacher, parent, or anyone you trust if you're being bully or having suicidal thoughts. **National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number is:** 1 (800) 273-8255. Get help and remember that you're not alone. There is at lease someone out in the world that cares about you.

 **Note:** This story hasn't been edited by a beta. If you would like to edit this story for me, please send me a pm. Also, this will be a two-shot story.

 **Summary:** Sometimes people are not what they appeared to be in public. Everyone has a secret they wished to hide from others. Some are insignificant and innocence and others are dark and serious. Henry's secret is the latter. His friends doesn't know about his past but they are about to. Will they stick with Henry once they find out or turn away like all the others? Mention of self-harm, depression, and attempted suicide. For suicide awareness month – September.

* * *

 **You're Not Alone!**

 **Friday, September 4, 2015**

 **Man Cave 4:45 pm**

Henry Hart and Charlotte Tow were busily working in the Man Cave. Ray, who secret identity was Captain Man; the superhero for Swellview, had asked them to do inventory on all the items in the storage room behind the secret door. So that's what they were doing. However, the task was long and difficult since they had no clue what to call the various machines or what they were able to do. Henry figured that this must have been the first time inventory was being taken on the storage room because it seems like Ray had accumulated a lot of junk.

"Okay. Henry, I need you to put this…thing over there in the weapon pile," Charlotte ordered, pointing to the right, where a small pile of ordinary items, which happened to be weapons, laid on the steps a few feet beside them.

Henry reached over the red cart and picked up the metal cube that had colorful wires sticking out of the top and went to place the item in the correct pile. As he was walking over, he turned his head and asked over his shoulder, "How do you know that it's a weapon? It could be something else instead."

Charlotte chewed on her lips in concentration as she perused her list on the electric clipboard. "I know it's a weapon because, while you were in the storage room collecting more items, Ray came down and I asked him which items were the weapons and he told me."

"Oh," Henry said, understanding now. He gently set down the strange weapon, that he still didn't know what it did, yet he wasn't will to find out by messing with it, and walked back over to Charlotte to continue on with the job.

For the next ten minutes, the two teens focused silently on their jobs, the only words they said to each other was what the name was of the item (or the description of it since most of the time they didn't know the name of it) and where to put it once Charlotte had written the item down on her clipboard.

"Hey, Hen," Charlotte begin, using Henry's nickname to gain his attention. Not that she wouldn't have if she'd used his full name, but whatever. Henry was her friend and sometimes it was too bothersome to say "Henry," so she and Jasper, their other best friend, decided to shortened it with "Hen."

Henry looked up as he placed another strange and unknown item down on the cart that was between them. "Yeah."

Charlotte lowered the clipboard to her side and locked her brown eyes with Henry's. "You know that today we get to leave work early, right?" She asked, wanted to make sure he knew.

"Yeah, I know," Henry answered, leaned gently against a metal table next to the cart, acting like he had no care in the world to worry about. "What about it?"

"Well, I just wanted to make sure you knew. Also, I was wondering if you were going to go to the town meeting tonight at City Hall."

"Oh yeah," he replied, suddenly nervous. He so did not want to talk about this right now. He rather talked about Algebra than the town meeting. Anything but that.

You see, the reason why Henry was so anxious when Charlotte brought up the town meeting is because he has a dark secret he had been keeping from his friends (this category also included Ray, Schwoz, and Gooch) ever since he was 11-years-old and it had a connection to the meeting. Only his family knew about it. He knew that he shouldn't keep secrets, especially serious and dark secrets like the one he has been harboring inside him for years from his friends. After all, best friends don't keep secrets from each other.

He wanted to tell them. Honestly, he did. But whenever he was about to reveal his secret, he would stopped suddenly and say something else instead. It seems like he could never find the courage to tell them. A part of him wanted to tell them, to get it off his chest, to finally achieved true happiness which the secret didn't allow until he uttered the horrible truth. Yet on the other hand, he was scared…no he was terrified. He didn't want to lose his friends because he kept the secret from them so long or because of the subject matter. He didn't think he could stand to lose more people walking away from him like his other friends did back in Riverside.

No, Henry thought, feeling hurt. Ex-friends. They weren't your friends. True friends don't betrayed you like that. They don't hurt you like that.

Anyway, back to the story. It had just turned to September, which happened to be the national suicide awareness and prevention month. And the meeting later on this evening wasn't going to be a regular one like the others he had seen in the past. No, the main agenda for the meeting held at Swellview City Hall was several lectures on the subject. There was going to be personal stories told, signs that love ones and friends should watch out for, what parents can do to help their children or friends if they are having suicidal thoughts, who to talked to should they need to expressed their feelings, and so many more stuff like that.

One of the speakers that was going to tell their person story to the town was going to be him. Yes, that right. Henry Hart, who secret identity was Kid Danger, was going to spill his deep, dark secret to the public for an educational purposes and he was terrified at the prospect of it. He wasn't scared about being in the spotlight, he had been in it a lot since he had become Captain Man's sidekick. No, what scared him the most was telling his story, his secret to other people that weren't his family.

However, if it happened to prevent another kid from going through what he had unfortunately experience at a young age of 8, then he was willing to speak about it in front of the whole town of Swellview.

"….the meeting is at 7. I heard someone say that the meeting was going to be very interesting tonight and that the whole town was going to be there. Are you going? If you are, maybe we can go - ?" Charlotte cut herself off, seeing that she had lost Henry somewhere in the conversation.

"Hey, Henry," she called, taking two steps forward and waving her hand in front of him, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Huh, what? What about the meeting tonight?" he inquired, blinking his eyes and looking back at Charlotte.

"Henry, are you okay? You zoned out on me again." Charlotte asked, worried about her best friend and his recent strange behavior. He had been staring off in space multiple times since she known him at the age of eleven, more often when the months happened to be April and September. This time, it wasn't any different, but it seemed to her like he had been mentally leaving her and Jasper more than usual this past week. It could just be her, though.

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'm okay." He lied, trying to sound convincing this time since he knew he couldn't lie to save his skin. "I'm just thinking about what I should make for dinner tonight. It's my turn."

Charlotte raised her left eyebrow in suspicion, knowing that he was lying to her. And from the evil eye she was currently giving him, he knew she knew he was lying, making him cringe in nervousness. He truly didn't want to lie to his friend. Every time he did, it made him sick to his stomach, but what choice did he had. He didn't want to lose his friends.

"Really?" She asked skeptical, willing to play along for the moment and buy the story he was spewing to her. "Don't you usually make Chili Balls for your family when it's your turn to make dinner?"

Henry nodded his head, causing his blond hair to fall in his eyes. "Yeah, I usually do. But this time I want to make something different. I was thinking Spaghetti since I know that's Piper's favorite dish."

"Okaaay," she stated, still not accepting the story he was giving her, but willing to let it go for now. "If you're sure you're okay then…"

"I am," he interrupted her in mid-sentence, a weak smile on his pale face. Charlotte gave him a look. "I promise, Charlotte. Nothing is wrong. Everything is okay." Please, oh, please just let the subject drop! I don't want you to know! I don't want you to hurt me like the others did at my other school. I don't want to find out what they said was true about me. That I'm unloved and friendless. That any friends I make in the future will leave me once they know my secret.

Charlotte continued to give him a long look, which he did his best not to fidget under her intent stare, before allowing the subject to drop for good. She then brought up the previous subject that was the cause of the one they had just finished. "The meeting is tonight. It's at 7 and I was wondering if you were thinking about going? If you are, maybe we can go together?"

"Umm…sure. I'm going. My whole family is going, in fact. But," here where he started lying again. "But I'm going to be a little bit late. Piper dropped her phone in the toilet again and the family is stopping at the phone store and picking up another one for her before we head to the meeting. You know how she is, always breaking her phone when she's mad about something."

Well, he mused, not feeling very well at the moment. It wasn't a full lie. More like a half-truth, in fact.

After all, Piper really did drop her phone in the toilet this morning, but the family wasn't going to stop at the phone store until sometime tomorrow for the replacement. Henry just needing a believable excuse to give as to why he couldn't go with Charlotte. He wanted to go with her, but he had to be at City Hall twenty minutes early since he was part of the lecture and needed to let the people, who were hosting the meeting, that he was present. Plus, he wasn't too sure he could keep up his acting in front of Charlotte. If she gave him another dark look before this day was officially over, he might just break down and spill his guts to her without thinking about the consequences.

"Yeah, I know," Charlotte replied, giving Henry a smile. "I'm not sure if I should be surprise or not. It's not unusual for your sister to break her stuff when she's in an angry fit, but I'm surprise it happened so soon. Didn't your parents just buy a replacement phone for her a month ago because she broke the one before that against your living room wall?"

"Yup, but you know my parents," Henry said as a way to explain his parents' behavior to his best friend. "Piper is their last baby and their only daughter, so they are making sure she's truly happy by spoiling her. That doesn't mean my parents like buying her a phone multiple times a month. They are trying to get her to calm down and quit breaking her technology stuff, but it's been a long and hard process. I guess the saying is true, 'some habits are hard to break.' No pun intended, of course."

"Of course," she agreed before bring up her clipboard to continue on with the job that they had abandon five minutes ago for the much more interesting conversation. As she turned her eyes to the clipboard to go down the list, she said to Henry, "Too bad we can't go together, but I understand. You go with your family and I guess I will see you there."

"See you where, Charlotte?" a familiar voice suddenly broke into the conversation. Charlotte's head snapped up in surprise at hearing the new voice. She took a quick look at Henry and saw that he was feeling the same way as her, noticing that he had follow her lead and resume his task.

Looks like Henry needs to work on observing his surroundings a bit more, Charlotte thought to herself. If they were in a true dangerous situation, Henry's failure at making sure no one was sneaking up on him would have gotten them hurt or worst, killed.

Charlotte looked straight ahead and saw her boss, Ray, and her co-worker, Schwoz coming down the stairs from the sprocket. They had sodas in their hands and curious expressions on their faces as they reached the ground floor and walked over to Henry and her. They were obvious waiting for her to explain.

She lowered the clipboard slightly in order to talk to them properly, "I was just speaking to Henry about the meeting tonight at City Hall and was wondering if he was going. When he agreed that he was, I asked if he would like to go together, but he said he couldn't. Which is why I said I will see him at the meeting then." She paused before adding, "Are you two going to the meeting?"

"Of course, we are," Schwoz answered after taking a sip of his drink. "Even Gooch is attending and you know how he hates the town meetings."

At the same time, Ray replied with, "Wouldn't miss if for the world. I heard it's supposed to be interesting tonight."

"Yeah, I heard the same thing," Charlotte agreed.

The two men and Charlotte never notice how much paler Henry had become in the last two minutes as they were too busy focusing on guessing what the topic or topics of the meeting was going to be about that would cause the-boring-and-the-sleepable usual meetings to not occur this month.

Henry felt so stupid at that moment. He knew that he would have to speak in front of the whole town of Swellview. He just didn't realized until now that he would also be speaking in front of his work friends too. To be honest, they usually didn't come to the town meetings. Sure, Ray did to keep up-to-date about the happenings of the town he was protecting from criminals. But Charlotte, him, Schowz, and the rest of the students of Swellview and some parents didn't. The usual meetings were boring and a waste of people's time for those who didn't care about the town.

Henry wasn't one of them, however. Yes, he didn't come to the regular meetings, but that didn't mean he didn't care about his hometown. If he didn't care so much, why else would he put his life on the line almost every night to protect the citizens of Swellview?

Henry was brought back to reality when he heard Ray say, "Well, it's five o'clock. You kids can stop with the inventory and go on home. And I guess we will see you later on tonight."

Henry didn't say anything. He gave Ray a grateful look on his still pale face before silently putting the item he had been holding for the last several minutes back down on the cart. Then he calmly walked around Charlotte and headed for the elevator. He pressed the blue button to open the door. When it slid open, he entered. He turned around and noticed his friends were watching him with various expressions of concern written all over their faces.

He ignored them, feeling bad in the process, knowing that he was the causing of those looks, but didn't know how to tell them. Tell them about the bullying that he went through for about three years, about the rumors and lies that were spread about him all over the school and even throughout the town. Tell them about the heart-wrenching pain he suffered with every day during school and after once he was safe at home. About the crying he did every night that would exhaust him so much that it would put him to sleep and then the frightening nightmares that would wake him up a few hours later. About…about…

No, he didn't even want to go there! To relieve those very dark moments in his life where he almost gave up for good. But he knew that he would relieve the memories sometime tonight when it was his turn to be on that stage

As much as he didn't want to walk up on that stage and revealed his past, reliving them as the horrible story unfolded, he knew he had to do it. It was selfish of him not to. Who knows, maybe a kid, whether they were young or old, could relate somehow to his story and decide that killing his or her life wasn't worth it to solve a temporary problem. So even if it killed him (no pun intended), he was going to stand up in front of the town, praying along the way that they won't reject him once they hear about his past.

Usually, about this time when Henry was leaving, he would say goodbye to Ray and whoever else was around. But not this time. This time, he kept his mouth shut and pressed the button to close and take him up to the Junk-N-Stuff store above the Man Cave.

* * *

When the elevator door close, Ray and Schowz turned to look at Charlotte, both wondering what was going on with Henry. He was usually a very happy boy and greeting them with 'hellos' and 'byes' whenever he saw them at the beginning and ending of work. For Henry not to say goodbye to them was like him suddenly liking pickles, which they both know that he and Charlotte hated the most.

"Charlotte, what's going on with Henry? He usually said bye when he leaving work," Ray questioned her, concern for his best friend and employee.

"Yeah," Schowz agreed, wondering about the same thing. "And he was really pale. Do you think he's getting sick? Maybe he working too hard here?"

Charlotte shook her head in a negative response. "I don't know. He won't tell me what is wrong. And if he does say anything, it's usually a lie of some sort," she explained with a frustrated expression on her brown face. She then added, "I did asked if he was coming down with something when I noticed how pale he was, but he said he wasn't. I know he was telling me the truth then because he didn't fidget in front of me or make up a lame story. Yet a while ago, he zoned out on me. He had been doing that with Jasper and me quite a lot recently. I'm worry around him."

"Same here. Did you both notice the quick flashes of pain and fear in his eyes when we were discussing the meeting tonight?" Ray pointed out to them.

They both shook their heads 'no'. Then silence descended upon the trio as they all stood in the middle of the Man Cave, not saying or doing anything.

"Well," Charlotte begin, breaking the silence a minute later, "if Henry doesn't tell me soon what's going on, I may have to slap a boy until he's willing to tell me." She paused, placing the clipboard on the cart. "Until then, I'm going home and getting ready for the meeting. See you guys later."

"Bye, Charlotte," Ray and Schowz said as she walked over to the elevator and soon disappeared behind the steel gray door.

* * *

 **Swellview City Hall**

 **6:55 pm**

Henry stood backstage, peeking nervously around the wall to see the large room full of people for the first time since he could remember. And more people were still coming in by the droves! The place was so packed full of people that there wasn't even a place for them to sit, they all had to stand in the back.

Henry studied them all for a minute, observing them as they talk to one another about insignificant things, smiles on their faces and laughing without a single care in the world. He looked to the right and immediately saw his family sitting in the front row, in the middle of the room. On the right of them, set Charlotte and her family and to the left, sat Jasper and his family. As his eyes continued to wander around, he never saw Ray, Schwoz, or Gooch. Of course, that didn't mean they weren't there yet. They were probably lost in the crowd as most of the students of Swellview were. Henry clenched his fists tightly, trying to will away the painful memories of his past life while his friends sat, chatting freely; having no idea what was going to happen tonight.

Swellview Press room was probably the biggest area in Town Hall. Beautiful cherry wood covering both the floor and walls with a white ceiling above them. At the front of the room, sat a large stage with a cherry wood wall behind it. However, there was still plenty of space to go behind the wall as the room didn't end at the stage. On the front of the stage, in the middle, was a wooden podium with a black microphone attached at the top. Behind the podium was several metal chairs that were place in a neat row. A large, blank screen, which a person could project images on with the camera that was attached to the ceiling, was pulled down. Various plants and professional paintings adorned the walls around the room.

Everyone has a story to tell, a past experience of some kind, but no one is aware of it until the words are revealed out loud. Those dark moments were only found deep inside a person and are often hidden by a smile on the outside. People wear masks and locked themselves behind mental and emotional walls as a way to hide their true emotions and protect them from the pain and horrors of the world. He knew this because he used to be one of them who did the same thing.

He wondered, as he looked around the room, how many people were out there who had experience bullying like him? How many people were the ones who was the bully? And how many were just a stand-by, watching but doing nothing to aid the victim? He shook his head. He didn't know since he couldn't see inside their hearts. But if he could, he would understand. Maybe not fully since no one could until they stood in that person's shoes, but he could understand the negative feelings and excruciating pain a person can feel when he or she thinks that they are truly alone in the world. The thing was, would the people who stood in your shoes, who experience the same feelings and pains you did, who stop to hear your story, your dark secret, treat you any differently? He hopes so. He truly do.

"Can I have everyone attention, please?" Henry took a step back in surprise at the sudden voice, the audience no longer in his view of sight. The deep voice below to no other than the Mayor of Swellview, Mr. John Turner. The deafening noise of chattered died down, everyone giving their complete undivided attention to the Mayor, ready to listen to what he had to say.

I guess it's time to get this show on the road, Henry thought, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. He glanced around backstage, noticing the three adults (one male, two females), who would also be on stage today. He didn't know what these people were planning on presenting to the town of Swellview. He did know, however, that he was going to be the only kid who was going to tell his story.

Mayor Turner cleared his throat softly before beginning to address the audience, "Thank you. I would first like to thank everyone for coming tonight. As you probably already know, we are skipping the usual meeting for something else, something far more concerning than our town of Swellview. But I know most of you probably don't know what that is. Very few in this room do know, however.

"We're in the month of September. And while the month might not seem as important to you, it is important to the people backstage as well as me. September is National Suicide Awareness and Prevention month," here he had to paused to allow the gasps of surprise and the soft mumblings of words to quiet down before speaking again. "And because the topic is so serious and the second leading death in the United States for kids between the ages of 13 and 24, we are going to have speakers come up here to tell their personal stories. Some of them will give you signs to watch out for if your child or friend are having suicidal thoughts. Plus, the tools you will need to overcome the problem. At the end, Miss Swellview and I will be handing out brochures on where you can go or talk to get help."

The citizens of Swellview sat in silence, processing what Mayor Turner had just uttered. "Now, I would like to bring up the first speaker of the night. Please give a warm welcome to Mr. Richard Lake."

The Mayor step away from the podium and clapped his hands to welcome the first speaker. Just as the Mayor turned his body to face the left where the guy named Richard Lake would come from, a middle-aged man with black hair, blue eyes, and a pot belly walked past Henry and turned, no longer in his sight. Henry could hear the man's heavy footsteps ascending the four steps to the stage and adjusting the mike on the podium from the shrill sounds it was making.

"Thank you, Mayor Turner for that great introduction and allowing me to be here tonight to talk to these wonderful citizens of Swellview," Mr. Lake began. The sounds of note cards shuffling on a hard surface and a soft clicking of a Powerpoint presentation could be heard where Henry stood behind the stage. "Tonight, I'm here to talk to you about…."

Henry stop listening to the man then, deciding to just focus on staying calm and thinking about what he was going to say in front of the town.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, you all know what to do. Please send me a review and tell me what you think of the story. Constructive feedback is welcome but please, no flames. Part two will be up as soon as I can finished editing it. I should warn you, however, that it will be a long chapter, which should make you all very happy, I'm sure.


	2. The Videos

**A/N:** I'm so, so sorry for how long it took me to post this chapter. I'm a somewhat perfectionist when it comes to writing and I didn't like how little detail was in the chapter nor how little of parts some characters had. For that, I'm truly sorry and I hope this lengthy chapter makes up the long wait. I would also like to apologize in advance for this awful chapter. My imagination or whatever you call it didn't want to continue working on this story and instead wanted to start a brand new story. So any ideas to finish off the story was difficult to come by. I'm hoping to get a beta as soon as I finished the story and improve the quality of the story. Maybe if someone else looks over this chapter, it wouldn't be so awful later on. Btw, I'm now making this a three-shot story. I have one little scene to write and then I will post it, and the story will be finished for good. I will try my hardest to not take so long to post the final chapter, but it won't be publish until after the New Year.

 **Warning:** Mention of attempted suicide, depression, and cutting. Some parts in the chapter might be too dramatize or graphic. Don't read if this chapter will trigger you. And please, get help if you're thinking of killing or cutting yourself, or if you're depressed. Remember, you're not alone.

* * *

 **30 minutes later**

"…if any of you have more questions on the topic I spoke about tonight, I will be in the back of the room after the lectures are over. I will be happy to answer any question you may have as well as provide you with the suicide hotline number and a website's address for advice and help should your child or friend happened to be suicidal. Thank you," a slender, beautiful woman with chocolate, brown eyes and hair stated. As the audience clapped for her, she stepped away from the podium and took a seat next to Richard Lake on stage.

The Mayor stood up from his seat in the middle and headed to the podium, clapping his hands once again for the previous speaker. Once he reached the stand, he leaned over and spoke into the mike, "Thank you, Mrs. Dames for that wonderful presentation. Please give it up once more for Mrs. Delilah Dames everyone!"

Clapping was once again heard all around the room, lasting for about a minute before it died down.

"Now, our next speaker is a brave young man who is currently attending Swellview Junior High," the Mayor began, only to be cut off by the noise in the audience. Sounds of whispers could be heard as they spread through the crowd like wild fire, all of them wondering who the kid could be. Henry bit his lower lip in nervousness and balled up his hands by his side, knowing that his identity as well as his secret were about to be revealed to the public.

The Mayor continued on, "This young man has only been living here in Swellview with his family for a few years now. When he heard about what was going to happened tonight, he approached me several days ago and asked if he could participate in the lectures, to tell his personal story to you. When I asked him why he wanted to talk about such a painful and difficult subject for him, he replied with, "'I hope to make others who are going through the same thing I went through to realize that suicide in not the only answer to their problems. They will always have someone who will be in their corner, supporting and loving them. And it doesn't matter if the teen or adult that is being supported or loved knows that supporter, just as long as that teen or adult has someone.'"

"However," the Mayor paused for a moment, "this young man isn't going to be speaking to you like Mr. Lake and Mrs. Dames have. He might be willing to share his story for you, but he's not able to talk about it. So, in order to tell his story, he has a couple of videos he would like to share with all of us. Now without any further delays, please give a warm welcome to Henry Hart." A round of clapping erupted throughout the room as Henry took a deep breath and walked out from behind the stage. As Henry step onto the stage, he could hear the gasps of surprise as well as the hush whispers, all of them wondering how Henry's life could be so bad that he thought killing himself was the answer.

As Henry took a seat next to the left of Mrs. Dames, he lowered his head to look at his shoes, not willing to risk a glance at his friends. He didn't want to see the disgusted or horror expressions on their faces now that they knew he tried to commit suicide in the past.

Henry didn't say or do anything while he waited for the Mayor to start the first video. The whispers were still going on around the room, but Henry just ignored them.

The first video he made a couple of years ago while he was still in the battle of darkness, popped up onto the blank screen a minute later. He knew this because he saw the blackness which was the start of the video from the corner of his eye.

Henry heard the piano music come through the speakers on the right and left of the stage and all around the room, signaling that the video was beginning. He wasn't planning on watching it, didn't need to since he knew every single detail of it as if it were branded into his brain to haunt him until his very last breath.

He kept his head down, still too afraid to look at his friends. To find out that those words his once best friends…now ex-best friends had spoken would actually come true. That he, Henry Hart would always be alone, unloved, and friendless because no one wanted to be friends with him. The first thing the audience heard was the soft, beautiful piano music that was the video's introduction. As the music played, the screen stayed completely black. But that only last for about ten seconds. Then the screen changed, it still had a black background, but white, bold words were beginning to appear in the middle.

This is what the audience saw:

 **Warning: This video contains scenes that some viewers may find disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised. Content in the video does not reflect subject's recent thoughts or feelings.**

Then both the words and the black background disappeared. The next thing that came up was a white background with the title of the video written in the middle with bold, black words.

 **You Know My Name, But Not My Past**

When Siren Heart, Henry's mom saw the title of the video, she shifted a hand from her purse on her lap and connected it with Jake's, Henry's dad. Mr. Heart squeeze his wife's hand gently in comfort and reassurance, gave the back of her hand a sweet kiss before placing it back down on the armrest of the chair. After he did that, Mr. Heart glanced over at Piper, his nine-years-old daughter, to find out how she was dealing with the current events. Piper's eyes never strayed from the screen as she hugged her small stuff blue monkey that her parents won her at a town carnival when she was four-years-old. She haven't done that since she was seven-years-old. Hug a stuff animal, he means, which was a sure sign that she was slightly distress and sad. Other than that, she appears to be doing okay at the moment.

The three members of the Heart's family had already seen the video that Henry was going to show the citizens of Swellview and knew what it was about. In the past, when the whole story came out, they all watched the video and had their emotional outburst in the privacy of their home. So this time around, they were prepared for what they would see. The emotions that the video would surely wrought would still come upon them, but their reactions wouldn't be so emotional or violent as they were the first time they saw it.

Charlotte and Jasper were curious about the warning and the title of the video but decided to wait patiently, or as patiently as they could when the topic concerned Henry before jumping to conclusion on what both could possibly mean for their friend.

 _A minute later, the audience saw the background and the title vanished. In it's place was_ Henry, only, it wasn't him.

 _The person in the video had the same appearance as the boy currently sitting up on stage. But if you looked closely and longer than two seconds, you would see that there was a huge differences between the two. The first thing that was noted was the boy's age. The kid in the video did not looked like a regular 13-years-old. Instead, he looked like he was around 9 or 10-years old. The second was how exhausted Henry looked in the video, liked he hadn't slept in days, possibly weeks. It was a little difficult to tell from the video and the lighting, but the boy appeared pale with dark bags under both eyes from lack of restful sleep._

 _Henry was sitting in front of the camera at his desk. The background where the video was being taken place was obvious the boy's room as there were music posters taped to a sky blue wall behind him and other kid things. And if the appearance of Henry being younger than he is presently didn't clue in the audience, the blue wall and the small image of the bedroom designs did. Now, not every citizen of Swellview had been in Henry's room, but most of them have come across a picture or two when they were on the web. And they didn't need to see the whole room to know that the blue bedroom was complete different than the one he was currently living in._

 _Henry wore a red pattern button-up shirt with long sleeves and a black t-shirt showed underneath the open red shirt. His blond hair was a bit messy, and he didn't wear his usual happy smile that the town of Swellview was used to seeing on the kid's face whenever they saw him. His brown eyes were dim and sad as he waved at the camera, a small smile showing on his lips for a short movement before it was replaced with an emotionless expression. Still, he kept that sad look in his eyes._

Ray, Grooch, and Schwoz were sitting together in the middle section, towards the front. Ray was in the middle with Grooch and Schwoz being on both sides of him. Before the video started, the trio was slumped in their chairs. But when the video began and they got their first look at the younger version of Henry and his appearance, they immediately sat up straighter in their chairs. Ray wondered silently as his eyes stayed on the screen, what had happened to the young boy to cause him to have that particular look about him, and had a slight suspicion that it couldn't possibly be good. Grooch and Schwoz's minds were racing with possible scenarios for his haggard appearance as they both knew how much pride the boy takes on him _looking good._ So far they haven't come up with anything that would fit with what they know at the moment.

The piano music changed to a different song then. A song most recognized in the room as _Mad World_ by _Gary Jules._

 _Then Henry put up a large, white index card with words written in black permanent marker on it. The card was being held up at the bottom of the picture while Henry's face was seen at the top._

The people in the room who didn't know about the video until now scooted a bit closer until they were sitting at the edge of their seats, curious to find out what happened to him.

 **Hi, my name is Henry Hart…**

 **and this is my story of the past…**

 **Everyone has one…**

 **So do you care to listen to it?**

Some people unconsciously nodded their heads 'yes' while others just waited for the next card to appear. Henry's parents entwined their fingers together, bracing themselves for what they were about to see. Yes, they have been through the horrible ordeal and know what happened thanks to Henry telling them, but they had a feeling that Henry was holding back on a few things when he told them. No, he didn't lie about what had happened, but he might have held back on his feelings and how drastic the whole thing got for him for those couples of years.

 **Let me asked you this?**

 **Do I look like a regular kid to you?**

 _Why would Henry ask a question like that?_ Charlotte thought in confusion as her brown eyes switched from the boy on screen to the teen on stage, who was playing with his fingers and avoiding her and Jasper's looks of concern for him.

 _Yeah, what with that question, Henry?_ Jasper mused, curious to know why Henry would ask such a question like that. _Of course, you look like a regular kid. Why wouldn't you be?_

 **If you said yes, then looks can be deceiving…**

 **Especially when emotional pain is hidden with a simple smile.**

 _The young boy then force a big, happy smile on his face. The expression would have succeeded if he didn't have the sadness in his beautiful, brown eyes._

 **My story starts when I was eight-years-old…**

 **I was still wetting the bed at night…**

Some people in the room had the nerve to laugh when they read that statement. Thankfully, there was always someone close by to smack or shush the person to be quiet, which they did without a sound. Charlotte was one of them as she had to smack her little brother for his cruel outburst towards Henry. Charlotte's parents, while not in support for physical violence, blissfully ignored the violent act between their children. They would have step in and reprimanded their boy, but Charlotte got to him first and took care of the problem. So they kept their eyes on the screen and their children would soon follow them a few minutes later.

 **My parents took me to see our family doctor…**

 **He ran a bunch of tests…**

 **And I found out I had a bladder infection…**

 **Which was the cause for my bed being so wet every night.**

 _Ah,_ some thought in realization, understanding now that it wasn't Henry's fault for wetting the bed but a medical problem he had.

 **I told two of my best friends about it…**

 **Because we tell each other everything…**

 **We don't keep secrets between us…**

 **I asked Abram and Barry to keep it a secret…**

 **Didn't want others to find out…**

 **Big mistake…**

The audience held their breaths, waiting to hear what happened. Some had guesses that the two friends had betrayed Henry with his secret and others had several scenarios, which played out in their minds that could've fit for what had occurred.

 **A week later, I found out they betrayed me…**

 **They told it to the whole school that I still wet the bed…**

Instantly, the room sympathized with Henry. Some, more than others, knew just how hard it was to trust someone with a big secret. To know that person or persons betrayed you by sharing it with others was probably devastated. No wonder it was hard for most people to trust others in their lives. All a person needed to do was bring someone new into their lives and then that new person could get some information or proof to hurt you with. Unfortunately, it was that easy.

 **The only detail they 'forgot' to mention…**

 **was that I had an infection…**

 **The whole school laugh at me…**

 **I felt humiliated…Embarrassed…**

 **Felt like I couldn't show my face at school ever again.**

Good thing Henry wasn't paying any attention to the crowd or else he would have seen the pity and sympathy looks coming his way. He wasn't showing the video to get attention. In fact, he rather have anything but that at the moment. He didn't want any of the looks. All he wanted was to share his story and prevent others from going through what he did. No one deserve that cruel treatment, even the school bully Mitch Bilsky.

 **That was the first incident that start it all for me…**

 **Later that afternoon…**

 **A kid in my math class told me that he saw my 'best friends' hanging out with the popular kids behind the school a lot recently.**

 **The popular kids picked on a lot of kids at my school…**

 **Never on my group of friends or me…**

 **I thought I was safe from them…**

 _Suddenly, a frightening expression appeared on the young boy's face in the video, like he was relieving that event over again in his head._

Ray felt his heart leapt from his chest up to his throat after seeing how scared Henry looked in the video. He never wanted to see Henry like that ever again. That's why he became a superhero. He wanted to protect and save people, to keep them healthy but safe. Yet at the moment, he couldn't because what had hurt Henry was all in the past and he couldn't help him physically. Never in all of his life, especially when he became Captain Man, has he ever felt so helpless in his life. He didn't like the feeling of it.

 **I was wrong…**

 **That's when things got worse for me…**

Everyone, beside Henry's family of course, held their breaths, afraid that if they let go, they won't know what happened. The suspense of the story was slowly killing them. But on the other hand, they weren't too sure if they wanted to know how much worse it could possibly get. Henry already lost his friends to a nasty group of popular kids, his trust in his friends was damage – possibly broken since they couldn't keep a secret between them. Not to mention, his friendship with them was possibly in ruins too. With so much damage done in a single day, it seem unlikely that a relationship like that would ever recovery from such a hard blow.

 **They came up to me one day in October….**

 **I was at my locker…**

 **There was eight of them….**

 **Including my two 'best friends'…**

 _Oh no!_ a couple of kids in Henry's grade thought, having a good feeling about what would occurred next. _'This can't be good!'_

 **Carson, who is the leader of the group, told me that Abram and Barry wanted to join them…**

 **Wanting to be popular and tough like them…**

 **I had a feeling it was to save their skin…**

 **From the bullying that would be unleashed on them sooner or later…**

Everyone who was close to Henry was angry after reading why his two ex-best friends joined the group. But none of them were more upset than Charlotte, Jasper, Ray, Schwoz, and Gooch. Sure, those who weren't close to the boy, were still angry. They couldn't comprehend how two best friends would betray another like that by not only sharing his secret but also joining a group that was known for terrorizing students.

 **They were scared…**

 **They wanted to be safe…**

 **The only option they had was to join the ranks…**

 _There's always another option,_ Ray thought furious as his eyes switched from the boy on the screen to the one on the stage. _They didn't have to join to keep safe from being bullying, they could have talked to someone, an adult perhaps. The adult then could have kept them safe, preventing the popular kids from picking on Henry's group of friends. But those friends didn't._

Charlotte was sitting stiffly in her chair, her mind running wild at what she was finding out about her best friend. But inside her, she was fuming. Not at Henry, but at his 'friends'. How could they even _think_ about doing something like that to such a kind-hearted boy? If those two boys were such great friends to Henry, why did they think the idea to join that horrible group was a great idea? Didn't they think about Henry, about how he would feel when he found out?

Sure, she could understand that they were afraid, but that wasn't a good enough reason to join. That was an excuse, one that they thought they could hide behind and not face the consequences when they acted on that decision. In her books, they were cowards.

Mad World soon came to a close and another song quickly replaced it. The new song was _Heavily Broken_ by _The Veronicas._

 **But Carson wouldn't allowed them…**

 **Until they gave him some juicy information that could be used against me…**

 **That's where the bedwetting secret came in…**

 **They were instantly accepted into the group…**

If the occupants of the room weren't angry before, they were now.

Jasper was frozen in his seat in the front row, mouth open and speechless. He couldn't get his head wrap around the information he was being given. But he was beginning to understand why Henry always acted nervous whenever he or Charlotte asked about his past. He was finally realizing the reasons for dodging their questions and the quick subject changes. And no wonder it was so hard for Henry to trust them, to share his secrets like they did when his former best friends betrayed him. Jasper was really starting to understand the reasons for other certain things he had seen in the past, but he wished he didn't have to find out like this.

Schwoz and Gooch didn't know what to think. They weren't as close to Henry as Charlotte, Jasper, and Ray, but that didn't mean they didn't care about him. They were so angry at those kids, they could almost feel steam come out of their ears as they sat on both side of Ray in the middle row.

 **My two ex-best friends, along with the popular kids...**

 **Started picking only on me now…**

The majority of the people in the room had a feeling that this was going to happened when they found out that the two friends had joined the group. They were just hoping that they were wrong. However, with sinking stomachs, they were unfortunately right.

 **It started off simple…nothing major that I need to tell someone about…**

 **They called me names…**

 **Judged me and the clothes I wore…**

Adults and kids alike knew how that felt. Not all of them had experience one or the other, but that didn't mean they couldn't sympathize with Henry, right? All of them, even the ones who unfortunately with through one of them or both, knew how hurtful the name calling could be to a person. And whether it was true or not, the clothes a person wears does matter to them and could hurt their personality and effect their self-esteem badly.

 **Was pushed into a wall in the hallway several times…**

 **Made it seem like it was an accident…**

 **Outside of school, I was shoved hard to the ground…**

 **They laughed at me every time they did it…call me clumsy and loser…**

 **I often ended up coming home with bleeding cuts…**

 **And pebbles embedded in my skin…**

Suddenly, gasps and noises of outraged were heard all across the room, while others were frozen in their seats with wide eyes and shock expressions on their faces. Charlotte's jaw touch the ground in shock. She was stunned to find out that this was what Henry was keeping from them. But she wondered why he never told Jasper or her, even after being best friends for over two years now.

Everyone could see that the boy in the video was beginning to break down as the emotionless mask started to crack. A couple of seconds later, they saw unshed tears swimming in his chocolate brown eyes and his lower lip quivering. Many felt like their hearts were being ripped out of their chests when they saw the strong emotion on his face. None of them have ever seen Henry cry, at least not in front of people and their hearts went out to him.

 _The screen changed as Henry show the audience several pictures of him being shoved roughly, of him lying on the ground, his clothes wrinkled and dirty with sand. Then a picture of Henry's hands were shown, and all of them could clearly see the cuts surrounded by blood still seeping out and the numerous pebbles embedded deeply in the skin. The picture of Henry's hands weren't graphic, unless you got sick from the sight of blood. The image was more painful than gross looking._

 _Henry took the pictures away and replaced them with another notecard._

 **My parents asked me what was going on…**

 **I didn't tell them…**

 **I thought it wasn't anything to be concern about…**

 **Thought I could handle it on my own…**

 **Didn't want to seem like a snitch…**

 **Didn't want to seem weak…**

 _Henry was obviously trying to keep his tears at bay, but was losing battle. When he lost, big fat tears slowly fell down his face, but he didn't bother wiping them away. Instead, he kept going on with telling his story._

 **That's when I started cutting my wrists…**

 **I promised myself to never do it again…**

 _More gasps were heard as the screen changed again to pictures. This time, the pictures were slightly graphic and showed Henry's cuts along his wrist. They were small and silver, difficult to see if it wasn't for the fresh blood still seeping out of them._

Ray had a wide-eyed look with expressions of shock and worry clearly seen on his handsome face. Shock at what he was hearing and worry for the boy he'd come to love and care about. His thoughts were racing a million miles a minute yet he couldn't focus on a single one since they were going so fast. The most common thought that kept appearing in his head was: Henry was bullied and cut himself?

To be honest, Ray didn't know what to think. Sure, he knew that bullying was still going on in school and he knew what it felt like to be the victim. He was bullied as a young child, way before he became indestructible. He knew how bad it could get for a person, even though he never actually went that far himself. He just never imagine in all of his years as a superhero that Henry would be in that position. Henry just didn't seem like the kind of kid to let other walked all over him. Of course, he didn't know Henry when he was eight, he only knew him when he joined the team as his sidekick when he was a teenager. He figured out that maybe Henry was different to the boy he was now. Maybe back then, he did let others walked all over him.

But whether Henry changed as a person when he was bullied to when he first started working at _Junk N' Stuff_ didn't matter. What Ray really wanted to know is why Henry never said anything about this to him. They spent a lot of time with each other, even outside of work. They had bonding time and had sleepovers in the Man Cave every Saturday night. Plus, there wasn't any topic in the world they couldn't talk about, beside the birds and the bee talk, of course.

Did Henry feel like he couldn't talk to Ray about his past? Like he wouldn't understand or wouldn't care how he felt about the horrible experience? Or did Henry think that he would bother his boss with his past? Or worse, not taking what he was being told seriously?

Ray didn't know and he wouldn't get his questions answer unless he talked to Henry about it. Until then, he would just have to sit and wait patiently. He just never thought that Henry's life got so bad that the only released he had was to use a knife.

 **Two weeks later…**

 **Everything got much worst….**

Henry still had his head down as the video continue on. But even with looking at his shoes and the ground, he could still see a little of what was going on from the corner of his eyes, so he decided the best way to stop him from seeing was to squeezed his eyes shut. Which he did. Unfortunately, that didn't stop him from hear the angst music or the audience's reaction when the next notecard came onto the screen.

 **I got my face slammed into the lockers…**

 **Daily…**

 **Often had bruises on my face…**

 **Started wearing make-up to hide them in public…**

 _Ouch,_ several people thought as they winced in pain, like they were the one being slammed into the lockers instead of Henry. Thankfully, no one snicker this time when Henry confessed that he wore make-up to hide his bruises.

"Ray," Gooch whispered from the seat next to me. "Remaining inconspicuous of your hero identity will be much more difficult if you crust the armrest."

Ray glanced down and was startled to see that he was right. He let go immediately and smiled sheepishly over at him. Gooch let out a soft, small chuckle before turning back to the screen just when another note card appeared.

 **I dreaded going to school every day…**

 **So much that I couldn't sleep at night…**

 **I would try my best to hide from them during the day…**

 **Didn't have any other friends to help…**

 **I ate lunch everyday alone in the library…**

Right then, Charlotte, Ray, and Schowz felt hot tears burning in their eyes, their hearts going out to the lonely boy, who didn't have anyone in his corner to support or help him. Like they somehow rehearsed it, Charlotte, Jasper, Ray, Schowz, and Gooch each made a promise to themselves, that no matter what happens or how far apart they were, they would always be there for Henry, especially now.

Ray also made a mental note to himself to talk to Henry about coming to him if he ever felt like he had to cut himself again or was either in the position like he was in the past. He cared deeply for him, like he was his own son, and he didn't want to see him hurt. Learning about Henry's story and hearing and seeing how hurt Henry was in the video was absolutely killing him. He felt helpless as a superhero and as an adult that he couldn't help Henry with his problem and be the one to take away his pain.

 **I felt horrible inside….**

 **I often wondered why me?**

 **Why was I picked for this?**

 _That is a question that is commonly asked but rarely had an answer for,_ mused the Mayor of Swellview.

 **They still found me…no matter what I did to get away from them…**

 **Sometimes…if they found me during lunch…**

 **They would take my food and throw it on my clothes…**

 **That's when the bullying got much worst…**

 **None of the kids like me now…they somehow made that happen…**

 **Got beaten up in front of my school…**

Everyone in the room was become upset again. It was bad enough that Henry was being bullied and physically harming himself, how much more can a little boy handle by himself without being completely broken?

 **Everyone stood around…**

 **No one willing to help me…**

 _I would have if I was there,_ thought Ray, Charlotte, and Jasper with a determinate expression appearing on their faces.

 **Carson said, "Look around, nobody cares about you. If they did, they would help you."**

 **A guy then yelled, "Just punch him already…"**

 **So Carson did…**

 **He threw me to the ground and punched me several times…**

 **Broke a couple of bones…**

 **Kids took pictures and filmed it…**

 **Others called me…freak, repulsive, ugly, emo, weirdo…**

 **You name it, they said it…**

 **As well as cheered on the beating…**

Charlotte silently growled as her hands curled into tight fists. God how she wish she was there. Not only to be there for Henry, who desperately needed a friend back then, but to punch those kids who hurt her best friend. After she was through with them, they would never messed with Henry or another kid ever again. She knew she would get in big trouble, but she honestly didn't care if it meant that Henry was okay and free from being bullied ever again.

 **Then they left me on the ground…**

 **I felt like a joke in this world….**

 **I thought** _ **nobody**_ **deserve this…**

 **I thought** _ **I**_ **didn't deserve this…**

 _You don't,_ everyone in the room thought with sad and angry expressions on their faces. They felt their hearts being clench tightly in their chests, felt Henry's pain as it was being conveyed on the screen. Some of the men in the room were balling up their fists, vowing to themselves to stop bullying from happening to another kid like Henry. They knew they couldn't stop all of them from occurring, but they could try their best and support the kids who were victims of the horrible acts.

Henry wasn't aware of it as he was still busy trying to drown out everything around him, but thanks to the video he decided to share, the town of Swellview was being brought closer together. Sure, they will never act like a tight-knit family, but they won't be strangers to their fellow citizens again. All of them promised to watch out for each other, to care more about the people living in their town, to simply be there whenever someone needed them. It was a beautiful sight to see and truly amazing that one heartfelt video from a teenager could bring about a drastic change that would take many years to accomplish.

 **None of the teachers came and help me…**

 **They thought it was my idea to fight…**

 **Thought I got what I rightly deserve for starting it all…**

The majority of the teachers and adults were furious when they read that. Were those teachers and adults in Henry's past life stupid or just plain ignorant to what was going on? How could they even think, much less, blame Henry for the fight and then say that his injuries were his punishment for beginning it in the first place?

 **All I ever wanted was to be like everyone else…**

 **To feel wanted and loved…to be liked…**

 _That is reasonable,_ some people in the audience mused. _Everyone deserve those kind of things and much more, whether they are a child or an adult. It didn't matter what age you are._

 **But inside I was falling apart…**

 **I was tired of being bullied…**

 **For the first time ever, I hated myself…**

 **Everything about me…**

 **Wished I was someone else…anybody…**

 _Tears were still running down Henry's face, which he continued to ignore. He had a heartbreaking expression on his face and the audience could tell he was having a difficult time telling his story because of the long pause he took between the two cards. Plus, he blew out a deep breath and shook his head, like he was trying to escape from a horrible memory that was slowly taking him over._

 **I started having suicidal thoughts at 8 ½ years-old…**

 **I woke up every day…**

 **Wanting to die…**

 **Never did anything at first…**

Charlotte didn't know how much more she could take hearing about her best friend's past. She just couldn't imagine ever being in Henry's situation. A rollercoaster of emotions were rapidly changing on her face. She was angry for those kids for targeting Henry and causing him so much pain. She longed to be there, just to show Henry that he had at least one friend who would be willing to help him and be there for him. But she also felt shock and heartbroken to know that her best friend actually wanted to die, just so he could escaped from the pain and torment that he was receiving daily.

 **Broke my promise…**

 **I started cutting again…daily**

 **I ran out of space on my wrists and started on my arms…**

 **Just wanted the pain to stop…**

 **A few days past…**

 **I got on the computer…**

 **Found out someone made a Facebook page about me…**

 **A picture of me being beaten up was his profile picture…**

 **There were several pictures and videos of me on there…**

 **They will never disappear…**

 _Once again, Henry brought pictures to the screen. The first picture the audience saw was the Facebook logo and a standard group page. They didn't see a picture of who created the page or the name of that person, but they did see the title_ (Die Freak!) _and pictures that Henry mention a few moments ago._

 _One picture show Henry trying and failing to defend himself from the attack, another show Henry on the ground, blood falling from his broken nose and numerous scrapes. The audience could also see that one or two of his limbs were in unnatural positions, meaning they were broken sometime during the attack. Another picture showed Henry on the ground, this time in a fetal position, trying to protect himself from more injuries, a look of fright and agony seen clearly in his eyes while his face was pinched with pain._

 _Then Henry played a five minute clip of the fight. The video didn't show the entire fight, which probably lasted for over thirty minutes in reality. Henry just played the beginning part where they saw several big and tough-looking kids approaching Henry outside in front of the school._

 _They heard the words being exchanged, noted the body language on every person that was seen in the clip. Then, two minutes into watching the clip, a fight broke out between Henry and three other kids. Everyone could definitely see that Henry was not the one who started the fight. The only crime he committed was not running away from the kids._

 _Several people were wincing every time a punch or kick connected with Henry. They saw Henry fall roughly to the ground, saw him rolling away from the kids, saw and hear the heart-wrenching screaming that came from his mouth and the cheering from the crowd as they watched the fight go on. Saw the tears rolling down the boy's young face as he braced himself for more pain._

 _After that, the clip was over and Henry returned to the index cards._ The song in the video changed once again and then _Dare to Be Different_ by _Rachael Lynn_ came on next.

 **There were comments...**

 **All I saw was, "He deserved it…"**

" **Go kill yourself! No one likes you!"**

 **I had a plan…**

 **To overdose…**

 **I wanted to die so bad…**

If Charlotte, Ray, and Schowz wasn't outright crying before, they were now. They couldn't hold back the intense emotions they were feeling as they read about their friend's horrible past and how he suffered so badly at a young age. And the trio wasn't the only one crying either. In fact, there wasn't a dry eye in the audience, even Henry's family was crying, despite them already knowing about the story.

 **On April 9** **th** **at 9-years-old, I took a bunch of sleeping pills…**

 **I was hurting so badly and I thought I was actually gonna die…**

 _A picture of several, little white pills in a palm of his hand were shown for a minute before Henry switched back to the cards._

 **My mom found me lying in my room…**

 **I was rushed to the hospital and was there for two days…**

Siren Heart couldn't help but shuddered slightly in her seat as the unwanted image of finding her only son lying on his stomach, lifeless on his bedroom floor with a bottle of sleeping pills clenched tightly in his right hand. No matter how much she wanted to forget that night, she knew she never would. As her wonderful husband wrapped a loving arm around her shoulders in comfort, she leaned heavily into his side, still feeling a little guilty for not seeing the signs and getting Henry the help he obviously needed. As a parent, a mother to two amazing children, it was her job to protect them, keep them safe, healthy, loved, and happy. And the only thing she succeeded in do was showing her love. She knew her son didn't blame her or her husband, but still. She knew she would always feel guilty for not stepping in earlier.

 **I told my parents what was going on…**

 **They went to my school and talked to the principal…**

 **Only two guys, Dale and Eddie, got suspended from school for a month…**

 _What!_ The majority of the room thought in outraged. _That isn't right! All eight of them should have been suspended and a lot longer than just a month! Was Henry's former principle an idiot like all the rest of the adults in his past life?_

 **When I was released, I felt happier…better…**

 **I was out of school for a few weeks…**

 **Everything got better for me at school even though I still sat alone…**

 **At lunch in the library everyday…**

 _Henry grinned a bit in the video, happy that his life was a little better now._ And the audience return that smile with one of their own, happy to see the Henry they knew and cared about.

 **Six months has gone by…**

 **Then the bullying start up again…**

 _Not again!_ Charlotte and Jasper exclaimed in their thoughts. They were angry and tired that Henry had to suffer once again, just when his life was becoming better finally.

Ray let a sigh of weariness escaped his lips as he leaned heavily against the back of his seat and rubbed his face with the palm of hands. In this moment, he truly felt his age of thirty-four with all the stress and emotions rolling around inside him. It was like a very long and twisted roller-coaster that never seemed to end. He felt shock, worry, scared, relief, anger, weary, and horrified. The first three emotions were obvious and needed to be explained. But the relief was for when he realized that the bullying, cutting, and both physical and emotional pain were finally gone. Hopefully, never to return. However, the relief was short-live which is where the anger, weariness, and horrified came into play. Like with Charlotte and Jasper, Ray was upset and weary that Henry had to go through the torture and suffering once again when it was obvious that the first time almost killed him. Literally. And he was horrified that after everything Henry went through already, he still didn't have anyone at school to support or protect him.

 **Students joined in with the popular kids and left me notes...**

 **They said, "You should have died that night!"**

" **No one loves you! Next time, try a different sleeping pill or another successful method."**

 **On the computer, people were posting pictures again…**

 **The theme was death…**

 **They constantly tagged me…**

 **With messages saying…**

" **I hope he dies this time and won't mess up doing it…"**

" **He's so stupid. I hope he sees this and kills himself…"**

 _Okay, that does it,_ thought Charlotte and Ray. _When I get a chance, I'm going to find those kids and hunt them down for hurting her/his best friend!_

 **I was beaten up before and after school…**

 **Got trash thrown on me…**

 **Every day I thought, 'Why am I still here? I wished I was NEVER saved that day!'**

Jasper felt like he was punched in the stomach multiple times after reading the last two lines. He didn't want Henry to suffer any more. But he was glad he was saved that day because if he wasn't, he wouldn't have been here now with them. He wouldn't have moved to Swellview, made friends with Charlotte and him, dated the girls at school, and maintained a job at _Junk N' Stuff_. None of that would have happened if he succeeded in killing himself that day. Thank goodness his mom found him when she did and got him help!

 **Got real bad anxiety…**

 **Started cutting all over my body…**

 **Carved words like, "Friendless," and "Unwanted" into my skin…**

 **I can't go swimming anymore because of the scars…**

 _Henry slid his sleeves up and put his wrists up to the camera. The audience could see thin, silver lines where his veins would be. Then he show his arms, where not only were there lines made from a knife, but the words '_ Friendless _,' and '_ Unwanted _,' were carved deeply in the middle of his pale skin. After, he lifted his shirt to show his stomach, where several lines covered his skin in all directions._

 **Locked myself in my room during the weekends…**

 **Never went out…**

 **Was failing school once again…**

 **Life never got better…**

 **Had no one…**

Ray lowered his head in his hands, in a fruitless attempted to drown out the rest of the story. He was finished, he didn't want to hear how Henry continued to suffer. He honestly couldn't take it anymore.

 **Was having suicidal thoughts constantly now…**

 **I even dreamed of dying…**

 **I WANTED someone…NEEDED someone…**

 **Decided to end it…to end the pain once again…**

 **I prayed I would be successful this time…**

 _No! Please, God, no!_ Charlotte screamed silently in her head in desperation. She felt like she had been punched in the stomach and all the air inside her was knock out. Her vision because bleary suddenly and it took her a minute to figured out why. Dozens of new hot tears will swimming in her eyes, blinding her from seeing the rest of the video. She lifted her hand and swiftly wiped her eyes, enabling her to see once again. And just in time, for Henry showed the next terrifying card.

 **On April 15** **th** **…at 10-years-old, I slit my wrists as well as hung myself…**

 **Used my belt and my closet door above me…**

Henry flinched violently, not at the words written on the card. No, he reacted involuntary because he heard several lines from the song that got to him. The lyrics in the song that affected him were, " _The teacher don't hear, all the rumors spread, or the notebook saying', how I wish I was dead.'_

Maybe in the past he wanted to die, but not now. Everything about him changed when he arrived in Swellview and became friends with Charlotte and Jasper. But he still reacted unconsciously when anything that involved death was discussed. And the memories he often tried his hardest to stuff in the back of his head would appeared whenever the subject was mention.

 **I could tell I was losing conscious…felt the blood seeping out of me…**

 **I thought to myself, 'This is really it…I was dying.'**

 **Instantly, I felt happy after thinking that…**

 **Then I passed out…**

Jasper felt sick to his stomach, horrified at finding out that Henry truly felt happy when he realized that he was actually dying this time. And even though he didn't succeed, Jasper was scared for Henry.

 _But he didn't die, Jasper,_ he reminded himself, trying to calm himself down. _He's okay. He's right here in front of you. He's okay._

 **The next thing I knew, I woke up with EMS around me…**

 **I couldn't talk or move…I could only watch what they were doing**

 **I passed out again…**

 **When I woke up, I was in the hospital…**

 **Stayed there for over two months…**

 **After that, I got the help needed…**

 **Went to a therapist weekly and to suicide prevention programs…**

 **Dropped out of school…**

 **To continue my education online…**

Everyone in the room relaxed, allowing a sigh of relief to escape from their lips. _Thank God, he's alright,_ they all thought. _Or almost, anyway_ , some amended, knowing, in fact, that recovering from bullying that severe would take a long, and possible, difficult process before Henry would be 100% okay. You can't just go from suffering from that degree of abuse and dying twice, then in a blink of an eye, you're okay and back to having a normal life. The world doesn't work that way, sadly.

 **Not long after that, my dad got promoted at work…**

 **And assigned to a new location…**

Jasper and Charlotte turned their heads and when their eyes met, they smiled for the first time since they heard Henry's name being called. The two friends smiled because they had a pretty good idea of where the new location the Hart's family would be heading to. After all, Henry did arrived in Swelleview at age 11 and became friends with him and Charlotte. So unless, the Hart's family moved to another town other than Swellview for less than a year, then they know they were right in their guess.

 _After Henry showed the last index card, the screen with black for a moment before disappearing. It happened so fast that if you blink, you would have missed it. Once the black cleared away, the audience saw Henry, only it wasn't the 10-years-old Henry they just saw a moment ago. Instead, they saw him a couple of years older. This was a teenage version of him now._

 _And if the different age didn't persuade them, the different background behind Henry certainly did. The room that Henry was in now was obviously his bedroom in Swellview, as they could see the wooden panels going horizontal on one side of the wall as well as the recognizable fixtures seen in the scene. Plus, his shirt changed from a long-sleeve red pattern to a dark blue stripe hoodie with a pocket in the front._

 _Henry's appearance was different as well. His hair wasn't so messy. Well, it was slightly but it looked like he had combed it recently. There were no bags under his eyes like he hasn't slept in a month. He wasn't pale, of course, he wasn't tan either. And he most certainly didn't have a sad or dim look in his eyes. Instead he appeared healthy and happy. Like a normal teenage kid who didn't have a dark past to hide._

 _Again, he must have place the camera on his desk or another hard surface because the audience could see his hands in the scene as he put up another index card. This would be the first one since the time skip occurred._

 **We packed up and left for Swellview a week later…**

 **Life for me slowly got better…**

 **Today, my life is great…**

 **My family is closer now, though we don't often show it around others…**

Henry's family exchanged a look and a smile before turning back to the screen. They were happy that Henry was happy once again and had a great life and great friends, even though they didn't care for Jasper as much as they did Charlotte. They were happy that the family survived those horrible, dark times in their lives without being torn part. However, they did come pretty close twice.

 **I made some new friends…** _ **real**_ **best friends this time…**

 **I got a job at** _ **Junk N' Stuff**_ **…**

 **And I love it!**

 **I even made more friends there…**

 _Henry allowed a huge grin to come across his face, almost splitting it in half. The audience could clearly see that he was happy with his new life. They were happy for him and couldn't help but smile in return, even though the real Henry wasn't smiling at them. Now that was the Henry they all knew and loved._

 _The scene changed again as Henry showed the audience a picture of his two best friends and him taken his first year in Swellview in front of the camera. The image only showed the three friends from the waist up and was taken in front of Swellview middle school with Charlotte and Jasper standing on both sides of Henry. Charlotte, who stood on Henry's right, was dressed in a plain, dark blue shirt with a pinkish/purple sweater over it and had her left arm draped casually across Henry's shoulders. Henry was dressed in a red and white pattern flannel shirt with a dark blue t-shirt under it and had his arms wrapped around his two best friends' waists. Jasper, who was on the left, wore a bright orange collar shirt with a rainbow jacket over it. He also had his arm over Henry's shoulders. All had smiles on their young faces._

 _Then Henry took the picture away and show another with him, Charlotte, Ray, Schowz, and Gooch in front of the camera. The picture was taken inside the_ Junk N' Stuff _store in front of the counter. In the backrow was Schwoz, Ray, and Gooch. Stationed in the middle of the three guys were Henry and Charlotte. Schwoz wore a loud, black and white pattern shirt underneath a solid gray repairman uniform. Ray wore a bright red, button-up shirt that had large squares of pictures all over. As for Gooch, he wore a pale pink shirt with a black vest over it. Both Schwoz and Gooch had their right and left arms resting over Ray's shoulders while Ray had his hands resting on Henry's and Charlotte's shoulder. As for the kids, Henry wore a solid, dark blue shirt with khakis pants and Charlotte wore a solid, dark purple shirt and blue jeans. All five of them had huge smiles on their faces._

 **I have scars that I'm not proud of…**

 **But they remind me of who I am…**

 **Of how I got to the place I am at today…**

 **I haven't told my friends yet about my past…**

 **But I plan to soon** …

Jasper and Charlotte shared a look with unidentified expressions on their face. They understood Henry's past and why he had always avoided talking about it. They were happy to know now, even though a part of them wished they hadn't and the way they found out about it. They wanted to deny that the bullying, cutting, and attempted suicides had never ever happened to Henry. They wanted to ignored it and simply go back to a normal life. But nothing was ever normal in life and they knew they couldn't simply ignored something as big and serious as suicide and bullying. Besides, now they can watched for the signs should Henry ever fall back on cutting himself. The duo promised themselves that they wouldn't allow Henry to fall that low ever again, to never be on his own like that again.

 **If you're thinking about suicide…**

 **Do me a favor and THINK AGAIN!**

 **Don't give up, even if the world hates you now…**

 **Even if you feel like it's the end…**

 **Even if you feel like you can't take the bullying any longer...**

 **It's not over, believe me…**

 **Life will become much better for you…**

 **You just have to wait a little longer for it…**

 _Henry lowered the index card for a minute. He pointed to himself and then smile, indicating that the last message was true because life was much better for him now that he was away from Riverside and that group of kids._

 **You're perfect, no matter what others think or say about you…**

 **You're alive for a reason!**

 **Will you promise me a few things?**

 **Promise me that you will simply BE YOU…**

 **Keep your head up!**

 **And finally, talk to someone. It helps…**

 _Henry lowered the last index card and placed it out of sight of the camera. He smiled at the lens with sparkles in his eyes, waved, and turned it off. The music ended at the same time the video did._

The occupants of the room was surrounded by semi-darkness and silence. No one talked or moved from their seats. No sound was heard other than people's breathing and the projector, which was still running, even though the screen was pure black.

 _However, another sound appeared several moments later. On the screen, where only blackness was moments ago, was another video with 13-years-old Henry in it. And it didn't take a genius to see that Henry was only moments away from crying, if the bright, shining eyes and flushed face had anything to go by._

The video began to play on the screen and the audience once again pay attention, wondering what this one was about.

 _Henry, who was holding the video camera this time because of the visible shaking seen, sniffled before he spoke. "Hi, people. It's April, and for the rest of the people, this month isn't important." He paused, taking a deep breath before continuing, "But for me it does. And for you guys who don't know that," here he paused again for another breath, "3 years ago this month, I attempted suicide. Twice. On April 9_ _th_ _and 15_ _th_ _. I did it because I was being severely bullied." Henry voice broke a couple of times on the last few sentences._

" _I won't go too deeply into my past because I have already told my story in another video," Henry began, sniffling a few times. "But I will say that it all started when my (now former) two best friends betrayed me to some popular kids by sharing my secret to get into their group." Another sniffled was heard through the speakers, but the audience could see the tears slowly falling down his face. "I found several notes in my locker saying, "Go die! You don't deserve to be among us normal people.'" And eventually, that what I wanted to do. To kill myself._

" _When I attempted the first time, kids at school found out. But the people that tormented me for months didn't care. All they wanted was for me to find another method this time. And it makes me sick to my stomach to know, here's the thing, that you can make someone kill themselves. And," Henry stopped, wiping his left eye and sniffled, "do the same to other people and not having a regret about it. Those same people who bullied me, who hurt me so much that the only way out was suicide, never got punish for the horrible acts they committed. Two people did, but they were only suspended for a month. None of the eight people got expelled or taken to jail for what they did to me._

" _I left that town and those people for another for my dad's work. But during the time I've been away, I have been keeping track on what's going on over there. Last year, about two years since I've left, I found out that those same kids were bullying another two kids, both boys who were a grade lower than me. I don't know all of what those people did, but whatever it was, they caused those two wonderful, bright boys to kill themselves. And you know what? The popular kids didn't care!" Henry said in a louder voice, clearly angry at that fact._

 _Henry calmed down a little by take several deep breaths before continuing on, "I know this because I went to both their funerals and none of them came. None of them came to say they were sorry, never gave any regret for what they have done to those wonderful boys. They never did anything! And they still haven't been kicked out of school or arrested for all the crimes they committed. They just start over again with another kid!_

" _I mean, is that their goal for the people that they are bullying? To kill themselves? How can you live with yourself after that? And not just living with yourself, but going on and doing the same thing to other people. That sick! That's horrible," Henry stated, ranting heatedly for a few minutes. He halted for a minute, taking deep breaths while he gathered his thoughts before pushing on with what he was going to say next._

" _I decided to make this video for two reasons. The first is so other people can learned through my past experiences. So my friends don't have to go through this. So no one has to go through this. I don't care if I don't know you. Just knowing that someone out there is feeling the same way as me or worse, that hurts me…a lot. So if you people have felt like there's no way out. That the only answer is suicide, it's really not. I don't care how bad it seems. Hell, you might think that no one cares. I care and there are numerous of people out there that care about you. And I will be one of them!_

" _The second is to show my appreciation to my family. Without their love, support, and prayers to get me through those dark times, for being there when I needed them most, I truly don't know where I would be today. Or who I would be. God blessed me with a wonderful family, who did all they could, even when I didn't want them around me at times. I just want to say thank you for what you've done and continued to do for me. And I hope someday soon, Mom and Dad, I can give back to you. To be the perfect son to you both._

" _But for now, I want to show my parents and everyone I know or don't know, who might be watching this, that I'm better and stronger than ever. I wrote a song and in a minute, I'm going to preform it for you all for the first time ever. I hope you like it," Henry said with a small smile on his face._

 _The camera then moved as he placed it on a hard surface a foot away from him. The shot was now wider and you could see a light wooden acoustic guitar laying on the bed beside him. He turned slightly and picked up the guitar and positioned it correctly over his legs. When the guitar was in a right position, he strummed lightly with his right arm, testing out the sound, while his left held the strings on the neck._

 _When the sound of the guitar was how he liked it, Henry began playing. The song started out softy. Then the sound began to build, growing louder and faster, in tune with the beat that was clearly heard in the music. The climax of the song finally appeared and the audience could see Henry rocking side-by-side as he strummed faster._

 _The song grew quiet once again. While the pace of the music was slower now, it was still faster than the beginning when Henry started to play the song. Once again the pace of the music began to build, soon bringing the song to a climax. Henry reached the climax once again, his fingers never missing a single chord while his strumming never stopped._

 _The song builds higher and higher, the music going faster and louder. Soon it would reach a climax. When it did, the music slow and become quieter for the final verse of the song._

When the song was over, Henry placed the guitar back where it was before picking up the camera again. "I hope you like the song I wrote. Remember, you're not alone. And there is at least one person that care about you and that's me. Suicide hurts…more than just you! I hurt my family with my past decisions and I don't ever want to do that again. So keep your head up and stay strong! After all, you're worth it in my eyes! To close this video, I would like to give an encouraging quote from an unknown author: "You were given this life because you are strong enough to live it! And that's the truth, people. Bye."

The screen went black for the final time. When the lights came on, Henry stood up and faced the audience. With a chocked voice, he said, "Thank you for watching. Let's my story be a lesson to you and help me on preventing more suicide from happening. Thank you."

He then turned and ran off the stage and went behind it, no doubt heading for the back doors. Charlotte and Jasper went to go after him, but by this time, the Mayor was bringing up the last speaker of the night, and there was nothing they could do about Henry at the moment.

* * *

 **A/N:** Please review. I know the chapter was terrible and I promise to fix it later with a beta. Just please give me your thoughts about this chapter.

Songs mentioned in the chapter:

 _Mad World_ by _Gary Jules._

 _Heavily Broken_ by _The Veronicas._

 _Dare to Be Different_ by _Rachael Lynn._

 _Fight Song by Rachel Platten (the song Henry played in the second video)._


End file.
